Tears to Shed
by Xestricn
Summary: Umeko's life is anything but simple. The secrets she tries so hard to hide might come out when she finds herself with two Srank criminals. And will she give everything up for a forbidden love? Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto!
1. Prologue

**Tears to Shed**

Prologue

The birds were chirping quietly as Inada Umeko walked to her garden. She was friends with the birds, they looked out for her and told her news that she would otherwise miss.

Umeko lived by herself in the middle of the forest not far away from her birthplace of Konoha. She of course hadn't been there since she was a small child but she still felt a strong loyalty to the place were she had spent the first few years of her life.

That particular morning had been no different than usual. Umeko never really had anything to do these days. She liked her unchanging lifestyle and welcomed the peaceful days.

By afternoon the birds were restless. Something was different, something had changed in the forest, and Umeko could tell. She quickly grabbed the bag she had hidden under a floor board in her house and swiftly made her way through the forest in search of the disturbance.

She heard yelling in the distance and she went towards it. The forest was a dangerous place for people who didn't know what they were doing. She sometimes had people, usually drunks or criminals, come through her forest. She would lead them out, or if they seemed threatening she took care of them quietly.

But these people were different. She gracefully landed on a nearby tree and watched as a young blonde boy yelled in the direction of a raven haired boy.

" . . . it was my turn! Don't always think that you should go first!" cried the blonde.

"Don't yell at Sasuke-kun!" said a pink haired girl, hitting the blonde boy in the head. "Naruto, your not always the one to go first! Wait your turn!" she yelled at him.

The scene struck Umeko as comical as she watched the pink haired girl hit the blonde boy, the blonde boy plead with the pink haired girl, and the raven haired boy give a quiet "Hn", looking bored.

She then noticed an older man, with silver hair, leaning against a nearby tree, absorbed in a book. He was oblivious to there argument. But he surprised Umeko by looking up from his book and making eye contact with her for a mere second.

Umeko hadn't bothered to disguise herself. There never had been need too in the past. She hadn't expected ninja's, least of all Konoha ninja's by the looks of it.

"You all should stop fighting. You're making a bad first impression." the silver haired man told the three fighting.

They gave him confused glances but the raven haired boy caught on first. Followed by the pink haired girl. Luckily Umeko took a hint and quickly hid herself in another spot, carefully disguising herself so as not to be found. She didn't like to be with other people. Especially ninja's.

She watched the puzzled looks on the faces of the three kids, while they looked around for her.

"You don't need to worry. Nobody wants to hurt you. You can come out." said the pink haired girl.

Umeko wasn't worried about being hurt. By the looks of them, if they did want to hurt her, they would argue the first fifteen minutes on who would come at her first. No, they should be more worried about themselves. The forest was not kind to visitors and had many secrets, some of which not even Umeko knew.

They soon gave up on looking for her, but the did not leave the forest. She watched the group as they trained. Going back and forth with fighting one another, perfecting their skills, which she had to admit were fairly good. But they would not be good enough if something happened. Only she would be able to take on the forest. Things could jump out and kill you before you even took your next breath.

It happened rather quickly. The group, not even the silver haired man, had expected it. Something shot up out of the ground, so fast you couldn't even tell what it was. It headed for the raven haired kid first, but Umeko was faster. She shot out her kunai. She had been waiting. She had felt it underground, and had waited for it to emerge.

The animal was taken down very quickly, but not killed. Instead it sense her presence and went after her. Umeko shot up quickly out of her hiding spot. Finally showing herself to the group. She didn't have a choice. The clearing they had chosen was large and open. She would be able to easily finish the beast off quickly.

It came at her before any of them blinked, and then it was over. Umeko had sliced it in two with her kunai. She wiped the blood off her hand with a cloth and turned to face the group. It had all happened so quickly, none of them had expected it, she could tell by the looks on their faces.

The blonde boy had a look of dismay, the girl looked confused, the raven haired boy was emotionless but had a slight look of annoyance on his face, and the silver haired man looked slightly impressed.

Umeko wasn't good with people, in fact she tried to avoid any contact at all with them. She gave them a small, awkward smile.

"Please be careful. The forest is extremely dangerous, it would be wise if you left." She looked up at the sky, it was almost dusk, the most beautiful and most deadly time of the day. A person could be easily fooled during the dusk.

"In fact, it would be best if you left now. If you hurry you can get out before nightfall." She then looked at the group again.

"Sorry, but we're staying here tonight. We have to train, and this forest is the best." said the blonde kid.

'Cocky.' Thought Umeko. 'He doesn't know what he's getting himself into.'

The pink haired girl finally found her voice, "Thank you for saving us, my name is Sakura." She gave a little wave and smiled at Umeko. "This is Naruto," she pointed to the blonde boy. "This is Sasuke-kun," pointing to the raven haired boy. "And this is Kakashi-sensei !" she pointed to the silver haired man. Each nodding when having there name called.

Umeko weakly smiled. They obviously didn't see the urgency in their situation. She couldn't leave them alone, they would be dead within minutes. Even the most trained ninja had difficulties getting through the forest. Especially at night. 'But that's the way he wanted it.' Umeko though bitterly.

She had no choice. They were obviously set on staying the night in the forest, at least they would be safer and comfier at her home.

"If you insist on staying, you can stay at my house for tonight. Sleeping outside would not be wise." She told them.

Naruto looked surprised, "You live here in the forest!" "Yes, it's just a little ways away from here." she answered him. "Wow! Kakashi-sensei, can we stay?!" he asked excitedly.

The man looked warily but replied, "I suppose it wouldn't hurt."

"YES! Let's go!" said the excited boy.

She nodded and jumped to the tree she had stood on hours before. "Don't fall behind, please." She told them.

Umeko was in the lead, followed by Naruto, Sasuke, Sakura, and Kakashi. Umeko went slower than usual, cautiously glancing around often to make sure nothing was coming their way.

"Hey . . . Wait what's your name?" asked Naruto.

Umeko glanced back at him quickly, "Umeko. My name is Umeko." she told them.

"That's such a pretty name!" said Sakura. "That's so cool, my name means cherry blossom and yours mean plum blossom! What a coincidence!" she exclaimed. Umeko wasn't that impressed but gave her a small smile all the same.

"So, Umeko-chan, what kind of food do you have at your house? Do you have any ramen?" asked Naruto.

What an odd question to ask, had she not clearly expressed that his life was in danger in this forest? How could he so easily trust her?

"Hmm . . . I don't think I do. I grow my own food. It's mostly vegetables." she answered him.

Kakashi chuckled, Sakura giggled, and Sasuke snorted at her response. Apparently Naruto wasn't a big fan of vegetables. Aware of her mistake, she told him, "But I'm not sure, I might have something.", trying to cheer the boy up, who was obviously disappointed by her answer.

Umeko's house was small, but reflected her personality well. It was quaint and quiet. The wood was well worn and looked homely and kind. Welcoming anyone who dropped by (not that anybody ever did.)

The inside was just as simple, a small kitchen with only the essentials, a small bed with a red quilt as a bedspread, and a large bookcase that took up most of the room. It contained tons of books of various subjects. Umeko had taught herself everything that she knew, well, almost.

She fed the group and made places for them to sleep comfortably.

Although Umeko was fond of her routine, she felt it was nice to have this change of pace. With these people she felt at home, and for once, since long ago, she finally felt happy, truly happy.

But she didn't know yet that it would be the beginning of the end, the end of everything that she had come to know and love.

* * *

Phew! Done with the prologue! Please tell me what you think. This is my first story so please keep those flames low on the burner. Of course constructive criticism is welcomed. I hope to have the story really rolling soon, so stay tuned! Thanks for reading!


	2. Meeting for the Second Time

**Tears to Shed**

* * *

First off, thanks to everyone who read the prologue. It makes me incredibly happy! Now, hopefully the following chapters will clear some things up, because I know it's kind of confusing. The prologue takes place after the Chuunin Exams and before Sasuke leaves. This next chapter takes place two and a half years later.

* * *

Chapter 1- Meeting for the Second Time

Umeko thought a lot about that night, two and a half years ago. How much just a simple invitation, to keep a group of kids and their teacher safe, had changed her life  
so drastically. So much had happened in such a short amount of time.

They had come after him the night of the party. No one had expected for them to come so soon, but that's what they had planned, Umeko figured.

She reached for Naruto and he caught her hand.

"Naruto, give me something of yours, something important to you." she whispered to him.

He reached to his neck and pulled off the necklace that Tsunade had given him.

'It's small but it is indeed important to him. It should work for at least a little while.' thought Umeko.

She gave him her usual uneasy smile and said, "Don't worry I'll bring it back, for sure." And she turned towards the door, ready to face whatever lay ahead of her.

"Wait, Umeko-chan, where are you going?"

"Just out for some air. You stay here and have fun." she lied to him. She hated lying to him, but otherwise he would have never let her go do what she was about to.

Kakashi waited outside for her.

"You don't have to do this. That is why we have ANBU, you know." he said quietly.

"I know, but I owe it to him." she replied, glancing once more at the door.

She could hear Naruto laughing with the rest of his friends, having a good time, and she knew that she was doing the right thing. People depended on seeing his goofy  
smile everyday, he was dear to many people, even if he didn't know it yet.

"Be careful." he told the girl. He still saw the same sadness in her eyes, even after leaving her seclusion.

* * *

He had taken her into their group. Making her, unofficially, part of their team. He understood why she had to carry out this task, even though it wasn't an assigned mission.  
But he still wanted to make sure that she would be safe from harm, like Naruto, Sakura, and Sasuke, he wanted to be sure that she was happy. Especially since he had  
learned about her childhood, not that there was much to know.

She had had three other siblings, an older sister, an older brother and a younger brother. Before Umeko's younger brother was born her parents moved from Konoha to  
an unknown country, taking everything known about the clan with them. They left almost no trace of themselves, anything known about them was told by people who had  
known them while they lived in the village.

Somehow, someone killed the whole entire family off, leaving Umeko alone. That was all that was really known. Tsunade had questioned Umeko herself when she had  
first arrived, but he was told that she didn't remember anything. Kakashi was unsure, but never brought it up. He wouldn't blame her if she didn't want to remember having  
her entire family slaughtered in front of her, the killer not even giving her the pleasure of dying with them.

He never told any of this to Naruto, Sasuke, and Sakura, though sometimes he wish that he had. Maybe if he had told the group, Sasuke wouldn't have left. It would have  
hit so close to home with him. He would have finally had someone who completely understood his feelings. But he hadn't and Sasuke was gone.

* * *

Umeko took a deep breath and in a split second, she was gone.

She had sensed their chakra, she would never mistake their chakra. By their hands she had lost her sight, but that hadn't set her back. She was still just as skilled as she  
had been when she could see.

She ran towards the exit of the village and she could tell that her technique was working. They were following her, thinking she was Naruto.

She hadn't really planned on what to do after leading them out, but she had already known her chances of living were slim to none. They wouldn't go easy on her for  
tricking them.

After a good hour or two of running she stopped and hid herself. She tried to catch her breath without being heard, knowing that they wouldn't be far away.

After a moment of crouching behind a bush she heard the kunai coming towards her and she easily dodged it. She then came out of hiding, facing her attackers.

* * *

She remembered how they had looked when they had come the first time. A blue looking man with a giant sword. His chakra was immense, even rivaling Naruto's large  
amount. There was also the other man. He was the one who had stayed back and watched the first time. 'More than likely assessing your strength.' thought Umeko.

His red eyes had met hers only once then, it had sent chills down her spine. 'The man is so cold', she remembered thinking at the time. 'Like he has no emotions  
whatsoever.'

Their battle was quick but harsh.

They had come after Naruto while her and Naruto and Sakura had been training.

"Hello, Kyuubi." stated the blue man.

Something inside of Umeko seethed as the man mentioned the Nine Tailed Fox, but she controlled her anger, ready to fight if either one attacked.

"We'd like you to come with us." he told Naruto.

"Yeah right! Like I'd go with a bunch of people I don't even know." Naruto yelled.

"Very well then. We'll take you by force."

The blue man was fast but Umeko was faster, and she was more than ready to take her anger out on this strange looking man. He hadn't been expecting her and he got two hard blows to his gut. But this did not stop him. The man drew up his sword with agility and speed and swung it at Umeko, who dodged it by a hair.

Suddenly out of no where a kunai came flying at her and she was too busy dodging the large sword to stop it. It cut across her face, leaving a large horizontal wound across her eyes.

She reached up and touched her face and could feel the warm blood on her fingers, but she saw nothing and felt no pain.

"Kisame, let's go." she heard the other man speak. And their foot steps left them.

"Naruto are you alright?" she asked him, making sure not to look in their direction. She didn't want them to see her like this. But Sakura had seen the blood dripping to the ground.

"Umeko-chan! Are you alright!" she screamed.

"I'm fine. Calm down." Umeko said, trying to soothe the girls' nerves, maybe even trying to soothe her own a little. She was starting to feel the pain now, and it burned.

She heard footsteps come near her and a hand on her shoulder. 'No.' she thought. 'They mustn't see me like this.' But the pain was so bad now that she couldn't move.

"Umeko-chan, you're bleeding. We need to get you to the hospital." Naruto said rather calmly, she could hear the hurt in his voice. She had felt that hurt before.

"Naruto, this isn't your fault. I'm not hurt because of you." she whispered to him.

The grip on her shoulder tightened and then release all together. They then walked Umeko to the hospital, but it was too late for her eyesight to be saved.

* * *

Now in front of her were the men who had blinded her, yet she strangely felt nothing.

"You're that girl from before." the blue man observed. "Didn't learn your lesson did you?" he said with amusement in his voice.

She heard him taking out his sword, but then she something happened that she didn't expect.

"Kisame, wait, she could be useful." said the other man.

The other man grunted and reluctantly put his sword away.

"So what do you have in mind then?" Kisame asked.

"Let's take her with us. She might know important information, and I have a good feeling about her." he replied coolly.

And with that, the man quickly came up behind Umeko and hit her pressure point, faster than anyone or anything she had ever seen.

And it all went dark.

* * *

Okay, here's the first official chapter! Please tell me what you think, any thoughts, opinions, and/or questions I'll be happy to answer! Thanks again for reading. I hope you enjoyed! 


	3. Startling Realization

**Startling Realization**

Chapter Two: Startling Realization

Umeko groaned and tried lifting her head but found it too painful to move.

'What happened?' She thought to herself. Then it hit her.

'The party. I went to lead them away and then . . . Where am I?'

Her hands shot up to try and feel her surroundings, only to grasp nothing but air. She felt the ground and it was hard and wooden.

'So I'm somewhere inside. First priority is getting out of here, no matter what.' she thought.

She managed to lift herself up into a sitting position before the wave of nausea swept over her.

She groaned softly again, her head pounding, she felt that it was threatening to fall right off her shoulders. But she pushed the urge to lay back down away and tried standing up, only to fail.

She crawled around on the ground trying to find something that would help her get on her feet.

'Hah! I've found something.' she thought triumphantly and reached out to grab the object only to pull back in pain.

She clutched her injured hand trying to figure out what had happened. Umeko felt the blood dripping down her hand onto her legs and floor. She tried to sense if anyone was with her but she could not feel anyone.

She tried to stop the bleeding with her shirt but to no avail. Whatever had cut her had not only hurt her hand but it had sucked away chakra too, she realized.

Not long after she heard the click of a door and soft footsteps coming her way.

"You're awake." said the voice, she realized it was Kisame's. "Oh, look what you've done. Were you trying to escape?" he asked, as if he was speaking to a four year old. "I didn't think it was a good idea leaving you here alone. Now you've gone off and hurt yourself. Well, it can't be helped now, I suppose. Get up and let's go." he ordered.

Umeko turned her head to face him. She took off the blindfold she kept on to hide the scars that ran across both eyes to show him her blind eyes.

"Ah, so that's how it is." the blue man proclaimed, seemingly amused. "So that blindfold isn't just for show, how unfortunate."

He grabbed her uninjured hand and led her to another small room.

"Look at this, she's only been here a few hours and she's already hurt, and we haven't even done anything yet." he told Itachi.

Itachi glanced up to Kisame sticking the girls' wounded hand out to show him. He was not amused and unhappy to be disturbed.

"I told you we shouldn't have left her. You can bandage it for her." Kisame told him.

"Don't get cocky and let her bandage it herself, she's not a child." he said coldly.

"You're the one who insisted she stay with us. You haven't even consulted Leader about this, have you?" He paused but then continued on, "It doesn't matter to me, this girl can be your responsibility now. Besides, you blinded her to begin with, so you can help her with her cut."

With that Kisame let go of Umeko's hand and left the room, leaving a dazed Umeko and a seething Itachi behind to deal with the situation.

Umeko heard Itachi cross the room to get something and then head back towards her.

"Sit down." he commanded sternly. She didn't dare to disobey.

'Maybe staying here won't be too bad. If I can keep them occupied they won't go to Konoha and hunt Naruto.' she thought.

"Hold out your hand." he commanded coldly again, and she did.

He began to, not so gently, bandage her hand.

"What's your name?" he asked.

She didn't say anything, not really wanting him to know anything about her.

He pulled tighter on the bandage and she winced as her hand stung with pain.

"Name." he said again.

"Umeko. Inada Umeko." she said quietly.

"Inada . . ." he said thoughtfully. He had heard that name somewhere before, but couldn't quite place where.

"I don't go by my last name, Umeko will be fine." she told him as he finished tying the bandage.

He stood up and walked back to his seat at the table.

"Are you hungry, do you want something to eat?" he asked.

'Like you care.' she thought.

"No, no thank you." She said politely.

She felt around for the blindfold that she had dropped, and found it near her feet. She grabbed it and was about to put it on when faster than a blink of the eye he stood behind her again.

"Don't put that back on. I don't like it." he told her.

His voice being so close to her ear sent chills up her spine, gave her goose bumps, but worst of all she realized, it made her heart pound like crazy.

She could feel his breath on her neck. She tried to remember the one image she had ever seen of him. The intent to kill in his eyes, of not holding back his power just because he didn't have to. She tried holding on to that one image she had, remembering the anger that she had felt just by looking at him.

Yet her heart kept racing and the adrenaline kept pushing through her, making her want to leap out of her skin.

But just as quickly as he had stood there, he was back in his seat.

"You should eat." he told her smoothly.

She nodded, not exactly knowing what to do.

'I've only been conscious for less than an hour and already I'm going crazy.' she thought.

But he led her to the table and sat her down in the seat across from him, putting a sandwich in front of her.

'Maybe it's poisoned.' she thought. 'No, they wouldn't give me such pleasure. Nobody ever does.'

* * *

Yay! Chapter two, done! I know this is kind of short, but I had a hard time thinking of the reactions each character would have. (That and trying not to make Itachi painfully out of character.)

Please review. It's greatly appreciated, and it helps me update faster. If nobody cares, I won't waste my time writing this, I already have the ending planned out in my head, so it's no loss to me. But if you like it, think it needs improving, have any ideas, tell me!

Thanks again! Hope you enjoy!!

(PS: I don't own Naruto, or any of it's characters. Only this story and Umeko. But of course, you knew that already.) :-)


	4. Nightmares

**Tears to Shed**

Chapter Three: Nightmares

_"Hurry, get her away from here."_

_Umeko heard her father yelling at her mother and siblings._

_"Okaasan, what's happening? Where are we going?" Umeko asked her mother softly._

_"Quiet, girl. You're causing enough trouble for us as it is. Keep your mouth shut and obey without questioning our authority."_

_Umeko wanted to cry, hearing the cruel sound of her mothers' voice, but she had learned long ago that doing as you're told leaves you better off._

_A kunai shot passed the moving family._

_Umeko's mother was leading, followed by her older sister. Umeko clutched her sisters' skirt as they quickly walked into a small, open field. Her older brother was not far behind her, carrying their younger brother on his back._

_He sat the toddler down and went and spoke to his mother. The little boy quickly squabbled over to Umeko._

_"Oneesan, don't look so sad. Nobody can beat Otousan and Oniisan."_

_She looked down at the tiny boy and smiled at him. But the smile wasn't to last._

_Umeko's mother slapped her across the face, leaving the right side of her face stinging, her eye's threatening to release the long awaited tears. But they didn't come._

_"Stupid girl, this is serious." her mother thrashed out at the small, six year old girl._

_Umeko nodded her head._

_"I'll do whatever you want me to." she told her mother obediently._

_"Get away from here. Just run away, take all the troubles that came with you away." her mother fell to her knees, starting to sob._

_"Why couldn't I have had a normal child? Why did we ever agree to having that wretched thing stay with us?" she cried out._

_Her mothers' loud sobs were soon silenced as Umeko watched as she fell face first into mud._

_"Okaasan?" Umeko whispered in disbelief. "Okaasan? Are you talking about me? Am I a monster, Okaasan? What's wrong with you?" she asked._

_"Didn't you hear her!" shouted her older brother. "Run, you slow, useless girl. You're making everyone's life difficult. Get away from us! Look what you've done to Okaasan, she's dead because of you! You're always so useless and stupid!!" he shouted._

_"Dead." Umeko mouthed the word._

_She heard the thump of her older brother hit the ground, next to her mother._

_'Why is this happening? Is this my fault?' Umeko thought to herself._

_Her mind snapped back to reality as she heard her little brother crying._

_"Oneesan! What's happening, Oneesan?!" his tiny body hobbled over to try and reach his beloved older sister._

_But her own older sister was quicker, picking him up before the kunai hit him, taking the blow in his stead._

_"Oneesan!" Umeko screamed, running towards the older girl. "No, Oneesan, no!"_

_"You really are just as Okaasan and Oniisan said." she smiled up at her little sister._

_"You don't even look like us, with your hideous purple hair. And your ugly blue eyes. You don't act normal or look normal. Who would ever want to be related to someone as atrocious as you?!"_

_"Umeko-oneesan." cried the little voice._

_'He is so frightened, and it's all my fault, isn't it? What have I done to make them all hate me this much?'_

_The toddler wailed for a moment, the tears flowing freely down his face._

_Looking at the youngest member of their family, Umeko realized it. 'I really don't look anything like them.' she thought._

_Then there was silence._

_'Oh no.' Umeko thought. 'They're all gone.'_

_She ran back into the woods, towards the little house.  
"Otousan!" she called out. "Otousan, where are you!"_

_She walked into the main room, finding blood everywhere. She heard his groan and ran towards him._

_"Otousan." she whispered. "Don't leave me, please, don't leave me." she pleaded._

_"My dearest daughter, what an awful curse has been laid upon you." he said. "You shall be so very lonely, but I don't feel sad for you, I'm sorry."_

_And with that, Umeko saw him take his last breath._

_'My whole family is dead.' Umeko realized._

_But the tears never came._

_She dragged her father's body out to the rest of the family, then she ran._

_She kept running, faster and faster. And the field of flowers seemed like it never ended._

_Umeko didn't know if it had been minutes or hours that she had been running. Maybe she had even been running in circles, but her families bodies were nowhere in sight, the smell of blood long gone._

_She curled herself up in a ball and swayed back and forth. Thinking of nothing, feeling numb._

_She completely comprehended that her family was dead, but she didn't cry, she felt no sadness._

_Then the words came into her mind out of nowhere._

_'Stupid. Slow. Useless. Ugly. Cursed. And . . . _

_'Lonely.'_

_Those words that they had left her to remember them by. That last word haunted her._

_"'You're going to be so very lonely.'"_

_She stayed there for what felt like days. The sun rising and setting twice was all she knew._

_Then she heard someone coming towards her, but didn't move, even though instincts told her that whatever was coming was deadly._

_"What are you doing out here all alone?" a voice asked. Umeko didn't even glance up._

_"You look so forlorn. Do you want to come with me?" he asked._

_Umeko looked up at this._

_"What a pretty face." The man said, bending down to make eye contact with her._

_"I bet when you grow up you will be one of the most beautiful, intelligent girls in the whole entire country."_

_"Do you want to come with me?" he asked again._

_"I'm so very lonely." she told him, never breaking eye contact._

_He held out his hand for her to take._

_'How does this man know exactly what I want to hear?' she thought. _

_'You don't care.' another little voice inside her said. _

_'That's right, I don't care anymore.'_

_And she reached up and grabbed his hand, feeling the coolness of it in her own hot, sweaty palms._

_His hands were so much bigger than hers but she felt as if this man truly understood her, and wanted to help her. Wanted to make her feel less . . ._

_Lonely._

_"I promise you, as long as your with me, you'll never be lonely again." he told her. And she smiled at him._

_"Ah. So pretty." he sighed. And he took her with him.

* * *

_

Umeko shot out of bed.

It had been a long time since she had had that dream. In fact it had been a long time since she had dreamed at all.

"What's wrong?" said a voice acroos the room from her.

It was Itachi, she realized. And her heart started thumping rapidly.

"Nothing." she mumbled.

"Go back to sleep." he commanded. And with that, she laid back down, and slept a happy, dreamless sleep.

* * *

Ah. I just couldn't keep away. I was having a creative streak after last night and ended up writing chapter three.

Hopefully chapter four will be up within the next week or so, but I can't promise anything because I have finals this week.

Please, please, please review!!! I really want to know what people think. I'm going crazy here!

Anyways, thanks. And cough. Ja ne!


	5. Surprises in the Darkness

**Tears to Shed**

Chapter Four: Surprises in the Darkness

The days that Umeko spent with the two S-class criminals started to run together.

By this time she knew her way around the place without hurting herself, and she would try to make herself useful, despite her disability.

She would make the meals to the best of her capability and they didn't complain. Never once had they told her that one of her meals was a failure.

Sometimes whenever she failed to do something and they didn't point it out it made her feel worse. Especially when she could tell it was imperfect and they chose to ignore this fact, going about their business like nothing had ever happened.

Their conversations were often few and far between, especially between herself and Itachi. Umeko and Kisame got along rather well. He often tried to make her laugh and would help her out sometimes with meals. (Sometimes she thought he was just tired of her burnt or uncooked dishes and wanted to do it himself.)

But despite the cruel and bloodthirsty stereotype that everyone had put them in, she found them to be just as pleasant to be around as anyone else. Never once had they done something to make her uncomfortable and they never threatened her.

In the beginning, Umeko was allowed to make herself a small garden outside the house. But she could tell that whenever she went outside it made both of them uneasy, especially Itachi. She couldn't see him, but she knew that he carefully watched her wherever she went.

She didn't know if it was because he truly cared about her safety or if he didn't trust her.

Sometimes she couldn't even stand staying in the same room as him. She felt something deep inside of her that was so happy just to be near him that she wanted to be sick.

He made her heart beat fast, when she was near him she breathed too quickly and made her feel dizzy. Almost like she was suffocating in his very presence.

But Umeko could tell that things were slowly changing.

Itachi had forbade her to go outside and if they ever went somewhere, everyone went. No one was left behind anymore.

Then one day Itachi came into the kitchen to find her trying to wash the dishes.

"We're leaving." he told her.

"Leaving?" she replied, confused by the sudden statement. "Where are we going?"

"Away." was all he said. "Don't bring anything with you. We might be traveling for a while."

'I got full sentences. I don't get those often.' she thought and then she thought about how odd a thought that was under the circumstances.

'What am I thinking? I need to remember my mission.'

She had almost forgotten the reason why she'd stayed there to begin with.

She had to save Konoha, and more importantly, she had to keep her dearest friends safe.

Umeko nodded in his direction and returned to drying the dishes.

"We're leaving now." he informed her.

"Now? But what about these?" she said and pointed to the mess that she knew she had yet to clean up.

"Leave it. It doesn't matter anymore. I want you outside in two minutes." and he turned and left.

Although his sudden urgency to leave baffled her she knew better than to disobey. She quickly dried her hands and made her way towards the door.

She heard the commotion coming towards her as she hid in a nearby tree awaiting Kisame and Itachi.

"That's them!" she heard a man yell.

"Hurry! Capture them!" another voice yelled.

"Wait, be careful. They are S-class criminals, and they have a hostage with them. Hokage-sama said to make sure not to harm the hostage." a calm voice stated.

"Right." three or four people said in unison.

The slight pressure on her shoulder snapped her out of her eavesdropping, but she didn't turn around. She could tell it was Itachi.

"Go, quickly. Kisame and I will take care of them. We'll follow you shortly."

He placed his straw hat on her head to hide her face from the pursuers and pushed her out of the tree.

"But Itachi-san I can't . . ." she began but was cut off.

"Don't argue with me!" he roared. "I said go!"

His tone made her insides flinch but no emotion showed on her face. She only nodded at him and made her way the best she could into the crowded town.

Nobody noticed her as she felt her way around people and buildings.

"Excuse me." she mumbled when she bumped into someone.

The person turned around to face her, but was unable to see her through the hat she grasped tightly to her head.

"Do you need help?" the man asked her.

"No, no I'm fine." she said in a voice hardly above a whisper.

Despite her skills she didn't like going through an unknown town not knowing which direction was the right one.

She made her way to move but the man caught her elbow in his hand.

"You look lost. Let me help you." he insisted.

"No, really, I don't need any help. Please let go of me."

"Where are you going?"

Umeko didn't glance up, but casually looked around as if she was trying to figure out where she was. She wasn't about to admit her weakness to a stranger.

"Away." she decided that she would borrow the answer Itachi had given her just minutes ago.

The man dragged her towards the exit of the town and started going through the forest.

His pace quickened considerably as they went through the trees.

She tried to escape his grip but he just tightened it. She could feel her bone cracking. He held onto her as if his life depended on it. Then just as quickly as they had started, they stopped.

Umeko could feel that the place was open and clear, they were no longer in the forest.

He let her go but made no move to leave.

She got down on her hands and knees and felt the ground. She took in it's scent, feeling it's texture.

'It's familiar in some way.' she thought. 'Where have I felt this ground before. It feels so bitter and sad.'

Then it hit her.

"Oh no." she said out loud.

"My dear, I've missed you."

'It's him. It's his voice.'

Umeko silently panicked inside, but kept her composure.

"I didn't think that you would actually run away. What a shame. I'm very disappointed in you. To think that my pride and joy would do this to the person whom she owes her very life." he hissed at her.

Her body started to burn by his very words.

She winced at the pain, but made no move to run away. No matter where she went, he always haunted her. There was no way to run away from him.

She took the hat off her head to reveal her blind eyes and did her best to keep from screaming out in pain.

But it was too much. The silence, the pain. She couldn't handle it anymore.

She dropped to her knees and screamed a deafening scream.

"Orochimaru! Please, please Orochimaru! Stop it!"

"Does it hurt?" he asked amused.

She took deep breaths and bit her lip till it bled.

She clawed at the ground, choking down the screams that threatened to emerge from her throat.

"Orochimaru."

The voice sent chills down her spine. It was only a whisper but the menacing tone it held was blood curdling.

It was Itachi.

"Release her. She doesn't have anything to do with you."

"She belongs to me." he retorted.

"Release her." he threatened again. "We don't have time for this."

"Then leave without her. She means nothing to you."

"You know nothing." Itachi stated.

Umeko's pain subsided and she could breathe normally again.

She stood up and took her place in between the two.

"We're leaving." she told Orochimaru.

She bent down to pick up Itachi's hat but instead was swept up into someone's arms.

Whoever it was had been fast, extremely fast.

"Who are you?" she asked.

"It would be easier for you to cooperate." said the voice, a boy, no older than her.

She had heard the voice before, and it hit her.

"Sasuke? Is that you?"

"Can't you see that?" he hissed to her.

She felt a pang inside from the comment.

He was going quickly and swiftly through the forest, more than likely to Orochimaru's lair.

"Sasuke, I don't want to go back. Please, take me back to Kisame-san and Itachi-san." she pleaded.

"No." he stated cruelly.

She tightened her grip on him as they neared the lair.

She was back at the place she had sworn to never enter again.

Back to the place of her nightmares.

* * *

Ta da! Chapter four, done! This, I have to say, is my least favorite chapter as of yet, but it came out better than I thought it would.

So of course, here's my disclaimer: I still don't own Naruto. Undoubtly never will.

And I beg you! Review! Please! Pretty please!

Hope you enjoy. I'm thinking about righting a profile about Umeko, maybe to make things clearer, now that most of her deep dark secrets have been revieled. Well, almost. Anyways, if you want me to create a little mini-biography on her, tell me, I'll be happy to.

Thanks again!

Love, Xestricn


	6. In This Dark Place

**Tears to Shed**

Chapter Five: In This Dark Place

Sasuke walked Umeko through the halls of Orochimaru's lair.

It was almost completely dark inside, with no sunlight coming in at all.

Umeko wanted to cling to Sasuke, to let him no how scared she was. But being afraid was a weakness and she already had enough of those.

So she carefully tried following the sound of his footsteps, staying a good two feet away from him at all times.

"You can stay here." he gestured to a room to his left. He gently pushed her into the room.

"My rooms down the hall. Don't leave the room unless you have to."

Umeko didn't nod, only looked blankly at him. He closed the door and went back up the hall.

She sat down right where she had been standing. She rubbed her throbbing temples.

'This isn't how it was supposed to go.' she thought.

'No, you should be dead.' another voice inside her said.

Umeko gave half a laugh. 'I should have been dead a long time ago.'

She laid on her side, running her finger across the scar on her eyes.

Before she knew it, she was asleep.

She was awoken by a knock on the door, but made no attempt to move. Her body was sore from sleeping in the same position on the cold ground.

The door opened and Sasuke looked at the girl laying on the floor.

"Get up." he commanded.

She lifted herself up and stood in front of him.

"Orochimaru wants to see you."

Umeko followed him to another room and then left.

A few minutes later the door opened again and she heard footsteps coming towards her.

"My dear, it really is wonderful to finally see you again." Orochimaru said happily.

"I didn't expect you to be with Sasuke-kun's brother. Not that it matters. You're back where you belong. But I really would like to know why you left the forest. Did I not make it clear that you should stay in that house until I came for you?" he asked almost innocently.

Umeko turned her head, ignoring his question.

In an instant Orochimaru's hand was around her neck. He backed her up to the wall and lifted her off the ground with ease.

"Answer me."

"I didn't feel like staying anymore." she told him. She didn't want to tell him that it had been Team 7 and their friendship that had made her want to leave. Their warmth that they gave off that she had never felt, she wanted to always feel that warmth.

"Oh really?" he hissed, pushing her harder against the wall.

"Then it's only right to punish you. You promised to never leave, it's not good to break a promise."

His free hand made contact with her stomach. He kept hitting her, harder each time. And before she knew it she had bruises and cuts all over her. Her arm was almost broken and two of her ribs were.

She heard him swing back his arm to hit her again but stopped mid-swing.

"Orochimaru-sama, you don't want to kill her do you?" asked a voice, the same one from the town earlier.

"No, of course not. Umeko-chan, you'll be staying here with us from now on." Orochimaru let her neck go and she slid down the wall.

She gasped for breath but it hurt to breathe.

Using her one good hand she lifted herself up.

"May I leave?" she asked coldly.

"Yes. Be careful Umeko-chan, some of the people here can be rather cruel." Orochimaru said with a snicker.

"Yes." she replied and walked towards the door.

Outside of the room she was met with cool, fresh air.

She held her hurt arm with her other hand and made her way towards what she hoped was her own room.

She walked down a small hallway until she came across a familiar, powerful chakra.

"Sasuke." she said and nodded towards his direction.

"Hn." was his reply.

She kept walking, as if she knew where she was going.

"Why did you let him do that to you?" she heard Sasuke ask.

She turned around to face him.

"It's best to let him have his way. Otherwise I might have ended up more than just injured." she answered.

"That's stupid." he retorted.

"Listen Sasuke, I'm going to tell you this once. Just because you're a favorite now doesn't mean a thing. Once he's gotten what he wants from you, you're useless. He won't care."

"So what does that make you then?" he asked.

She gave another half laugh, "I'm still a favorite. Always will be, more than likely."

"You have something he wants?" he asked, half amused.

"Doesn't everyone here? For you, no doubt, it's your Sharingan. For me," Umeko smiled. "It's a secret." (A/N- Umeko doesn't know why Orochimaru really wants Sasuke. She's guessing.)

Sasuke snorted. "A secret?"

"Mmm . . . Yes, I don't even know what it is." she said thoughtfully.

"Hn."

Umeko started walking again.

"That's not the direction your room's in, are you lost?" Sasuke called in half a laugh.

"So help me, Almighty-Sasuke-kun." she told him.

"Hn." he said again. "Follow me."

She followed his footsteps again and he left her when they reached the room.

"Thank you, Sasuke." she told him.

"Hn." he paused for a moment. "You should get that healed." he told her.

"No, it's fine. I've had worse. It'll be better by tomorrow, it always is." she chirped at him.

"Whatever." and he left her alone to think about everything that had happened to her.

She looked out of the window, not being able to see anything, but it comforted her anyways.

"Looks I'm right back were I started." she said out loud.

She laid her head on her knee and closed her eyes.

'And this time, they're not going to let you out.' said the voice inside of her.

* * *

Yay! Okay, once again, I'm not to fond of this chapter. Oh well, there are only about two or three more chapters left. I tried to make this one a little bit more light considering how dark the others have been lately. 

Anyways, I still don't own Naruto.

You know the drill, review the story, please!

Thanks again! Love, Xestricn.


	7. Deadly Questions

**Tears to Shed**

Chapter Six: Deadly Questions

Itachi's plans had failed. Things hadn't gone as he had wanted. But he hadn't counted on Orochimaru knowing Umeko, much less kidnapping her.

He and Kisame had gone back to their normal routine. They stayed away from villages and began to hunt down their targets.

'And normal food again.' thought Itachi.

Yet something compelled him to, not quite worry, but to think about how Umeko was doing.

He remembered how she had screamed out in pain upon meeting Orochimaru. How her usual calm body had went rigid with fright.

Was he taking care of her properly? Or was he just using her for his own dark purposes?

'Isn't that what I was doing?' he thought to himself. 'And why do I care?'

And so Itachi thought about Umeko's wellbeing and the more he thought about, the more ideas on how Orochimaru was torturing her crept into his head.

And he didn't like it.

* * *

Back in Konoha, Naruto and Sakura had searched frantically for Umeko everywhere. It had been hard loosing Sasuke, but they couldn't bare to have another friend leave.

Kakashi was in a dilemma. Whether to tell them where she had gone or not. He knew it would tear Naruto apart, blaming himself for her disappearance.

Umeko's mission was successful though, the only trace of her left had been Naruto's necklace that ANBU had found lying on the ground. They had given it to Kakashi, knowing that giving it back to Naruto would lead to disaster.

But it had been weeks now since her sudden disappearance and Kakashi felt that it was time to tell his former students.

The two young ninja walked towards him with confused expressions on their faces. He put his orange book away upon seeing them. This was a serious matter that required his whole attention.

"Kakashi-sensei, why did you call for us?" Sakura asked.  
"You want to know about Umeko, don't you?" he asked.

"Umeko-chan? Have you heard something about her?!" asked Naruto excitedly.

Kakashi held out the necklace and placed it in the blonde boys hand.

The light in his eyes fell.

"She's not . . ." Sakura began, but she couldn't say the word.

"No one knows. That's all that was left. But it didn't look a struggle took place."

"A struggle? What do you mean?" Naruto asked.

"Umeko . . . The night of the party Akatsuki attacked, trying to come after you, Naruto. She led them away using your necklace. But nothing was found of her after that."

"Umeko . . . Led them away . . . For me?" Naruto tried comprehending the words, but they seemed too unreal to imagine.

"Of course there's still a chance she's alive somewhere out there." Sakura said, knowing that Naruto took her disappearance as his fault.

"We've got to go find her. If she's out there she might need our help." Naruto said rushing to leave.

"Wait, Naruto. We have to organize this. What if Akatsuki kidnapped her? Or something else happened? We need to think things through. Then we can leave." Sakura said, wanting to go and find her friend just as much as he did.

He nodded, understanding.

"I'll tell Tsunade-sama." Kakashi said and was gone with a poof.

So they planned their mission, and left the next day to find their friend.

* * *

Sasuke checked on Umeko each day. Making sure she hadn't done anything stupid. She was obviously unhappy about staying there.

Her words came back to him sometimes. 'Once he's gotten what he wants from you, you're useless.'

But he would make sure that it didn't end up like that. Sasuke Uchiha was not useless, and never would be.

Never.

* * *

Umeko heard a commotion down the hall. It was more than a commotion, it sounded like a battle.

But she didn't care and she didn't want to leave her solitude.

The noise hit it's climax and then all went silent.

'Finally.' thought Umeko.

She closed her eyes and laid down on her bed, but she didn't sleep. She didn't sleep unless she had to. In this place, sleep could be deadly.

Her door flew open and she shot up out of the bed looking in the direction of the noise.

"Umeko, come on. Let's go."

It was Sasuke.

"Sasuke, what do you mean? Where are we going? What about Orochimaru?"

"Don't worry about it. Come on." he commanded again.

She scrambled out of the bed and followed him nonetheless.

He grabbed her wrist hand hurried her through the many hallways leading out of the lair.

She dared not to question what was going on until they were safely away from whatever Sasuke was obviously in a hurry to escape.

After a few minutes of running Sasuke slowed down his pace to a quick sprint, letting go of the blind girls' wrist.

Umeko hurriedly followed him through the forest to who-knows-where.

After several minutes she could no longer stand the suspense so she gathered her wits together asked him the questions that had been troubling her.  
"Sasuke, where are you taking me?"

"Away." he replied.

'Oh, the irony.' she thought.

Hadn't she heard that same reply from another Uchiha just days before?

"What happened? Did you fight someone?" she tried prying information out of him again.

"Nothing you need to know about. I just need you to come with me."

"You need me?" she inquired but kept herself collected. 'What do you need me for?"

"It's something that only you can do, now keep quiet." he snapped.

Umeko grimaced but kept quiet. When an Uchiha said something they always meant it, so she thought it best to wait until a later time to ask the questions still running through her mind.

Suddenly, Sasuke abruptly stopped. Umeko could tell they were still somewhere in the woods. The air felt confined and she could only feel a slight breeze.

"We'll stop here.' he told her, leaning against a nearby tree.

She ran her finger over her scar out of habit, a habit that Itachi had tried to break her out of. One that he had even almost threatened her to break. She doubted he felt guilty, rather he found it annoying that she would unconsciously remind herself, and everyone else around, that her eyesight had been taken from her.

So Umeko stood there in the middle of a forest clearing, questions running through her mind. She wondered if she should try asking Sasuke questions again.

Before her mind talked her out of it the words started bubbling out of her mouth.

"Sasuke . . ." she began but was cut off.

"So you've finally made it." Sasuke said. Addressing an unknown person.

Umeko realized that the person was standing behind her and she shot around to look at the newcomer.

The person had hid their chakra and she couldn't tell who it was, which frustrated Umeko, but she didn't show it.

"It's about time you arrived. We've been waiting." Sasuke said while he made his way towards Umeko.

Before she knew it she felt him yank her back towards him and put the cold blade of his katana against her throat.

She chocked down her surprise but managed to speak. "Sasuke . . . What are you doing?"

"Hmm . . . This is a new low, even for you, little brother."

Umeko's ears perked up at the voice.

"Itachi-san?!" she said, half confused, half delighted.

"I'm here to bargain. Your life for hers." Sasuke stated.

"Why would I care what happens to that girl? Kill her. I'd like to see you do it." Itachi replied, ice in his voice. And Umeko knew he meant it.

She felt the sharp blade cut lightly into her neck, making it slightly bleed.

"So, you really don't care what happens to her. Then why did you come?"

"We didn't come for her." Itachi replied.

At that moment they heard someone approaching them quickly.

"Sasuke! What do you think you're doing?!" Naruto yelled at the top of his lungs.

"Naruto." Umeko whispered.

"Let her go! She has nothing to do with your revenge!" Naruto added.

"We came for him." Itachi remarked dryly.

Something in Umeko raged inside.

Sasuke and Itachi's heartlessness, her dearest friends safety.

It was all too much, and the anger that she had held back all those years came forth.

White chakra swirled around her and Sasuke stepped back away from her.

Her whole demeanor changed. Her once pale eyes changed to the brightest blue. And the white chakra consumed her, giving her a protective barrier.  
"Now you've done it." a voice from behind said.

Umeko shot around and glared at the person in front of her.

Orochimaru.

"You." the dark Umeko hissed at him.

"This is your fault. Everything is your fault!" she yelled.

"Now now, Umeko-chan, let's not be hasty. You wouldn't want anyone to get hurt would you?" Orochimaru said calmly.

"The only one getting hurt is you!" she screamed.

And with that Umeko lunged towards the snake sannin with all her force. With every intent on killing him.

* * *

Cha! Suspense! At least I hope it's slightly suspenseful. So, there should only be two more chapters left, unless my imagination conjures up some new ideas.

It's surprising that I've had almost 1,000 hits and only four reviews. But thanks to anyone that has reviewed. I am eternally grateful! So please spend two minutes out of your life and leave me a little comment! It's greatly appreciated.

I hope to get the next two chapters up soon. (I already have the last one written, I'm pretty proud of it too.)

Thanks again! And review!

Xestricn


	8. Final Request

**Tears to Shed**

Chapter Seven: Final Request

_Umeko lunged towards the Snake Sannin with all her force. With every intent of killing him._

* * *

The group looked on in shock, some not letting the emotion betray their faces, but all the same they felt the sudden dismay of the usually gentle girls' abrupt change in manner. Her dark purple hair unwound itself from her usual messy bun on top of her head and fell to it's full length, right above her hip bone. The white chakra surrounding her looked menacing and deadly. Everyone looked on in dismay, except for the man her rage was intended for. 

Orochimaru looked at the girl, his face unchanged from the slight smirk and his eyes gleaming with amusement.

He had never dreamed of her being this powerful. His patience had finally paid off and he saw what his dear student was finally capable of.

She had come upon him in mere seconds, faster and more agile than he had expected.

Her brute force had sent him flying backwards but left him unfazed.

"Gobi, I see you've finally released yourself." Orochimaru sneered.

Umeko growled and came at him once again, only to be countered with a snake coming her way.

She easily dodged it and slashed it with her claws.

Naruto looked on with horror.

"Umeko-chan! What's wrong?!" he yelled at her, but she ignored him.

"It's the Five-Tails."

Naruto glanced up to see Kisame glaring at the two fighting.

"Five-Tails? Like a . . ." Naruto stuttered. "A demon?"

"Gobi no Houkou. The Five-Tailed Dog Demon." Kakashi explained, his eyes never leaving his adopted student getting thrashed by Orochimaru.

"It seems she has it sealed inside of her. She undoubtedly didn't even know she possessed it. Considering the power she's using isn't close to the potential she has. Each tail that the Gobi possesses represents one of the elemental powers. Wind, water, earth, lightning and fire. She isn't using any tails. It's also a master of genjutsu, its illusions are nearly unbreakable. More than likely she's just using its more powerful chakra." Naruto and Sakura gaped at Kakashi, hardly believing what had just come out of his mouth.

The chakra around her began to swirl madly but she couldn't seem to concentrate. Everything she saw was a blur, things moved too quickly for her to fully grasp what they were.

A voice inside of her head kept screaming at her.

"Let me out, you stupid girl! You're so weak, let me out of here!"

It made her even angrier and made her mind even cloudier.

She rashly came at Orochimaru, throwing punches and performing techniques at random. Something she would never have normally done.

The older man came at her and punched her hard in the stomach, making her fly backwards and slamming into a tree.

It took her a moment to collect her wits but it was already too late.

He came at her with intense speed, aiming his sword at her heart.

Umeko didn't look away from her attacker but matched his glare head on.

He was seconds away from piercing her when the chakra formed a tail out of hard stone and bashed him away.

But the sword kept coming and the cold blade made contact with her skin.

The sudden impact shocked her. She had thought she had gotten away.

The sword went through her chest and pierced the tree, leaving her immobile.

She looked down and saw the warm, red liquid seep through her shirt. She touched it, unbelieving that it had finally happened.

The pain ripped through her whole body and the white chakra slowly started to fade away.

Orochimaru lay unconscious a few yards away.

"Umeko-chan!" Naruto screamed.  
Sakura put her hand to her mouth to keep the scream that threatened to come out.

The rest stood in shock as she stained her fingers with her own blood.

"Umeko-chan, don't die! Don't you dare die on me!" the blonde boy yelled again.

Umeko looked towards her friends and held up her blood soaked hands. Her eyes once again turning from their brilliant blue to the pale, blind color.

"I really . . . Liked this shirt." she said weakly.

She once again turned her attention to the sword. She winced at the pain when she grabbed a hold of it.

"No Umeko-chan, you mustn't pull it out! You'll start bleeding more. I don't know if I can stop it!" Sakura yelled at her friend.

But Umeko put a determined face on and got ready to pull it out.

"Umeko, do not pull that sword out." Itachi commanded.

She glanced towards him and gave him a weak smile.

"Don't worry, I'll do it quick, like pulling off a Band-Aid." she reassured him and made her grip firmer on the blade, cutting her hands slightly in the process.

She heard someone running towards her quickly but she was quicker. In one graceful pull she yanked the long sword out of the tree and her chest and placed it on the ground beside her.

She let out a quiet whimper and started to fall to the ground.

"Umeko-chan!" Naruto ran to her side catching her.

"Sakura. Can you heal her." Kakashi asked with a concerned tone.

"I can try." and the pink haired kunoichi made her way towards her friend.

Sakura let the green chakra cover her hands and she placed them on her wound.

"Sakura . . ." Umeko whispered her name. "Sakura, don't waste your chakra. It's too late, besides I should have been gone a long time ago."

"Umeko-chan don't say that." said Naruto furiously.

"Please, it's what I want. But if you could do one last thing for me." she said.

Umeko whispered her request in Sakura's ear and she nodded.

"I can do that, Umeko-chan. But it won't last long."

Umeko chuckled, "Neither will I."

Sakura put her hand up to Umeko's face. She did not flinch when she felt the sharp pain in her eyes. In an instant her once unseeing eyes began seeing shapes and could distinguish colors. Then everything became clearer.

She blinked a few times to clear her blurry vision.

It had been restored, as good as it had been before.

Umeko sighed in relief.

She felt the tug at her chest as she did so, but ignored the uncomfortable feeling.

She was dying and she knew it. This time, for sure, she would be granted the peace that she had for so long wanted.

She only wanted one thing now, before she plunged back into the darkness.

"Itachi-san." she said, hardly audible.

"Itachi-san, I want to see you, one last time." she said quietly.

"Umeko, you won't die." he said, but he knew as well as she did that this was her end.

He tilted her head back so that she could look at him.

She looked into his eyes. No longer red with the Sharingan, just the deep black eyes looking back into her own blue ones.

And for the first time ever, she let the tears she had held back for so long stream down her face.

"I'm so happy." she said. "Everyone is safe and well. And . . .

"I'm so glad to know you and to be able to remember you this way."

She broke down into sobs. Her body shook and the tears streamed down her face like a waterfall.

He held her head carefully in his hands, staring blankly at the crying girl.

The tears began to stop and she touched the top of his face, tracing out every line. Memorizing every feature.

She would hold onto his image, even if it were only for a little while.

She smiled at him, not her sad smile, but a smile so warm that it could have melted snow. Her blue eyes shown brightly into his, and nobody could help but feel moved.

Sakura turned away, burying her face in Naruto's shoulder. Kakashi looked on with his one sad eye. And Sasuke watched as a girl he had come to consider a person who was, not quite a friend, but someone important to him, die in his brother's arms.

Umeko shakily raised herself up and placed her chin on Itachi's shoulder.

She whispered those four words that she knew she had been saying all along in the back of her mind.

"I love you, Itachi."

Her posture relaxed and then she collapsed all together.

And so it was over, she had shed her tears.

And it was the end.

* * *

_"Itachi-san! Itachi-san!"_

_Umeko called out to him and he gave his signature, "Hn." The automatic Uchiha answer._

_"Itachi-san, good morning!" Umeko awoke him brightly, opening up the window to let light in._

_She chatted about the latest joke Kisame had told her and about the new things growing in her garden._

_He wanted to yell at her to get out of his room. He wanted to throw something at her so he could continue sleeping._

_But then he realized she was still here. He shot out of bed._

_'Umeko.'_

Itachi sat up straight, glancing around the room for any traces of her.

But of course she wasn't there.

"Stupid dreams." he muttered under his breath and got out of bed.

It wasn't fair for him to have to wake up when dreaming about her.

It wasn't fair that she was dead.

* * *

. . . That was sad, wasn't it? I actually put the last two chapters together so, technically this is the end. But, I might keep the story going, I've thought up some more ideas. If enough people want the story to continue I'll keep it going, otherwise I'm just going to write an epilogue and that will be the end. 

So, review!

Thanks! Love, Xestricn


	9. Preview

**Preview**

Naruto, Sakura and Kakashi walked to the small monument they had set up to honor there friend.

It had been three weeks since her death. They didn't have the heart to bury her in the ground. Instead they took her back to her little home in the forest. The one where she had so many sad and happy memories.

The home that she had loved, despite her loneliness.

They had laid her on her small bed, with the red quilt. Surrounded by the hundreds of books that she had loved to read when she still had her eyesight.

She finally looked peaceful, almost happy in her eternal slumber. Her dark purple hair framing her face perfectly.

That was the way they had left her. Back to her solitude in her little homely house.

Now the monument was all that reminded those that had been close to her of her fate.

It read:

Inada Umeko

Elite Ninja &  
Beloved Friend

Naruto looked at the small piece of stone longingly.

It didn't do her service, this slab of rock. It didn't show the wonderful person that she had been.

He looked up at the sky and watched the dark clouds, threatening to let the water fall onto the village.

The three stared at her monument, and began to feel the drops of water on the top of their heads.

"Let's go." Kakashi said quietly. His orange book put away for once and he gestured for them to follow him.

Sakura followed him hesitantly, going back to her training, to take her mind off what had happened.

"Naruto." Kakashi called.

"I'm going to stay here . . . For a while." he said.

The silver haired man nodded and left.

"Hey, Umeko-chan." he said looking up at the sky. The water droplets splashing off his face.

"You didn't have to die like that. You could have lived." he said quietly. Tears forming behind his eyes, but he held them.

The rain poured down now and Naruto decided to leave, placing the flowers he had brought on the top of the monument.

The wind blew softly, disturbing the leaves on the trees.

"I'm sorry, Naruto."

The words carried through the wind and whispered into his ears, made the blonde stiffen.

"Umeko-chan." Naruto whispered.

* * *

Okay, this is the preview. I'm thinking I'm going to make a sequel to continue this on. 

So, like always, review it. It makes me feel good.

Hopefully I'll have the next one up within the next week or so. Thanks again!

Love, Xestricn


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